Victor Oladipo and the Indiana Hoosiers were sent packing by the Syracuse Orange and Michael Carter-Williams, but Oladipo had a strong outing in the loss.
NCAA Tournament 2013: Victor Oladipo finishes tournament strong but short of goal
Victor Oladipo had a successful tournament outing on an individual level, though the Indiana Hoosiers fell out of the brackets before reaching the Elite Eight.
The No. 1 Hoosiers fell short of their expectations, but Oladipo took full advantage of the road in front of him. He had a very strong tournament, and while he did end up on the losing end earlier than expected, he still put up a fight. Oladipo finished the game with 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting, making the single three-point field goal he attempted. He also made 5-of-8 free throws.
Oladipo had the tough job of slowing down Carter-Williams, which is no easy task. Oladipo, the Big 10’s Defensive Player of the Year, did what he could to slow down the point guard who seemingly glides past opponents. While Carter-Williams did score 24 points, he did it on 9-of-19 shooting.
Indiana struggled to score though, being held to just 34 percent shooting from the field and only 20 percent from beyond the arc as the Orange advanced. Fortunately for Oladipo, a game where his teammates struggled from the field shouldn't reflect poorly on his individual outlook. Specifically, Cody Zeller -- who is considered a top five prospect by DraftExpress -- made only three of his ten field goal attempts.
Overall, Oladipo had a good tournament that should not hurt his draft stock. His outing was strong enough, in fact, to give slumping wing Ben McLemore of the Kansas Jayhawks a run for the top wing prospect if he continues to struggle through the tournament.
Unfortunately for Indiana’s leading man, his stock is out of his hands now. He did his part to maintain his already-established value while doing just enough to pique interest further should McLemore continue his downward trend. DraftExpress currently projects Oladipo as the sixth-ranked prospect out of 100.
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